Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(15)
Becca was still with Lupita and her father. They were heading for the hospital in town.
The rest of us were geared and ready to go. Sam was in the chopper with Oliver as our eyes in the sky. Ryder and I were on one snowmobile, Jared and Kyle on another. Markus said he was going on foot through the rougher terrain.
We all wore bulletproof vests and had semi-automatic rifles and a handgun. Night vision was limited, so only Markus, Sam, and Ryder got those. The Scottish enforcer had already set out to follow snow tracks. All of us were linked via walkie-talkie.
Time to find us a Sanctum scout.
Ryder and I were following a trail, our snowmobile rumbling along as we moved slowly through the night.
“I doubt the scouts have gotten sloppy enough to leave a trail,” Ryder said, his face obscured by the night vision. “But we have to follow all leads.”
“Might be a trap, but at least we’ll find him quickly.”
I was more than happy to find the fire-lovin’ bastard.
After following the tracks to a thick forested area that the snowmobile couldn’t enter, Ryder cut the engine and jumped off. I trailed behind him, gun held at my side and as blind as fuck because no one took the time to hunt up some more night vision goggles. In their defense, I had never used them, but how hard could it be? Would have to tell Jayden to order some more of those online.
Ryder’s walkie lit up then and Markus’ brogue came through in a low murmur. “I’ve got a human form in the trees, by—”
His words were abruptly cut off, and Ryder barely paused before he started rushing through the forest. I stayed right on his heels. If I lost him I’d be completely blind out here.
Sam came over the walkie now. “I see him, Ryder! Your 2 o’clock, one click northeast.”
Ryder changed directions slightly, because apparently northeast meant something to him. He smashed through the thick undergrowth which surrounded us, snow and ice flying in all directions. My cheeks were starting to hurt now, that sort of biting cold which was almost unbearable.
My heart pounded wildly as I thought of the way Markus’ voice cut off on the walkie-talkie. He had to be okay; my gentle giant could take care of himself. I knew that from all the training sessions where he crushed me into a pile of dust. He was fine.
We were running full force, and with all the heavy gear on; my lungs were still recovering from the barn fire, so I was in shit shape. Not to mention the frigid air and crisp snow biting at my exposed flesh. If Sanctum didn’t get us all, the elements would.
A heavy snowdrift cut me off for a moment, and by the time I got through it I had lost sight of Ryder. Luckily he’d left a decent trail of destruction through the woods. I struggled through particularly thick brush and pretty much tumbled into an open clearing. Immediately the sounds of a struggle drew my attention, and I was back on my feet in a flash. I could see figures wrestling, and before I could shout out, a distinct heavy thud echoed, followed by cracking branches and then a body slamming to the ground.
Ryder, who must have come into this section a few yards away from me, took off toward those two shadows. As he passed me, he ripped off his night-vision goggles and tossed them on the ground, before taking a huge leap and landing on top of a black-clad hulking figure.
Unclicking the safety on my weapon, I stooped down to pick up the goggles and slipped them on. Holy shit! These glasses had thermal imaging as well. I had to blink a few times to let my eyes adjust. My vision was awash in neon green, and before me was a battle of two red glowing figures that the heat sensors were picking up. A large male was unconscious on the ground. Judging by the outline of his face, it was Markus. He’d been the one thudding to the ground.
Moving as close as I could to the fighting duo, I dropped to one knee and steadied myself the way Markus taught me. From this distance it was slightly easier to tell the difference between Ryder and the black-clad male. Both were exchanging heavy blows. Breathing deeply, I centered myself, blocking out all other distractions. I needed to be sure of my shot before taking it. I didn’t want to hit the wrong guy.
God damn they were fast. The Sanctum scout was slowing just a bit, as if tiring out already. Markus must have really given it to him.
Just then another red figure jumped into my field of vision. Another one of our boys had arrived. As the figure closed in I could tell it was Oliver. He crunched in the snow, and the snapping of twigs distracted Ryder for about a millisecond. As he shifted to see who was advancing on him, I finally had an opportunity to take a shot. My bullet went right through the scout’s neck. I had been aiming for the head, so it wasn’t half bad. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, gurgling and sputtering through the blood accumulating in his throat. He kept saying something, but I couldn’t understand what it was. Something like “Allie.” Was that his girlfriend?
Okay, now I felt terrible. Even if this ash had been here to bring assassins to me and had attacked my men, ending a life was still not something I could ever agree with.
Ryder let out a deep breath, distracting me. “Nice shot, Charlie.”
He pulled his weapon then and put a bullet between the scout’s eyes. I’ll never forget the hot blood meeting the cold snow, and the way it glowed on the night vision goggles.
There was more light in the space now. Oliver had a small lantern. Where the heck had he got that from, and why didn’t I have one?
“Charlie, check on Markus for me,” Ryder said, before turning to Oliver. “I’m going to need some help hiding the body. The harder it is for them to track him, the more time we’ll have.” This was the second time in the few months I’d known Ryder that he needed help in hiding a body. The enforcer struggle was real.